Banks in Barbados

Submitted by Terence Blackett

How Unlawful Bank Charges, Variable & Adjustable Interest Rates and the Practices of Corporate Bigotry and Institutional Prejudices Affect Black Businesses and Individuals?

A banker is a fellow who lends you his umbrella when the sun is shining but wants it back the minute it rains – Mark Twain

Virtually all countries in the world operate on what is called the Private Debt Money System (PDMS) and what that basically means is that institutions like the (Bank of England & Federal Reserve) can just create money out of thin air. The money is then lent to commercial banks who in turn lend it to you and me at sometime extortionate rates of interest.

Sir Josiah Stamp (1920) then president and director of the Bank of England aptly said that: “The modern banking system manufactures money out of nothing. The process is perhaps the most astounding piece of sleight of hand that was ever invented. Banking was conceived in iniquity and born in sin. Bankers own the earth. Take it away from them, but leave them the power to create money and control credit, and with the flick of a pen, they will create enough money to buy it back again. Take this great power away from the bankers and all the great fortunes like mine will disappear, and they ought to disappear, for this would be a better and happier world to live in.  But if you want to continue to be the slaves of bankers and pay the cost of your own slavery, let them continue to create money and to control credit.”

Rational Approach To Diet, Exercise And Health

Submitted By Bentley

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The Other Side Of The Coin

Submitted by GoWeb Blog

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I recently had a very interesting experience on a minibus bound for Speightstown, and even though I was greatly disadvantaged by what transpired, it left me with a sense of understanding for what PSV operators go through. Although I’m not sure I would classify myself as sympathetic, I would still like to show the other side of the coin, and give readers an insight into the life of a minibus operator.

Last Wednesday I caught a minibus bound for Speightstown in the Cheapside terminal. After lingering a while the minibus was forced to leave the terminal with a very small number of passengers. It was evident from then that things were somewhat slow that day. The driver started on the usual journey, heading up Fontabelle, but then diverted and cut out onto Baxter’s Road. For those of you that don’t know, Baxter’s Road was the previous outbound route for minibuses but is now reserved only for outbound Transport Board (state-owned) buses. Unfortunately, we ran into a police officer on Baxter’s Road, who was poised to report the driver for this infraction. I listened with interest as the driver explained to the police officer that he doesn’t commit such infractions but that things were very slow and Baxter’s Road always had a good supply of commuters, who were now exclusively the property of the Transport Board. He pleaded with the officer, pointing out that he had been driving up and down the coast of the island, burning diesel and making very little money. The officer agreed that he had never seen that particular driver on Baxter’s Road before, and then he inspected the number of passengers in the bus, seemingly satisfied by his inspection that the not much money was being earned. He decided not to report the driver, but did make him turn around and go back up the Princess Alice Highway.

I was obviously inconvenienced by this delay, as we had to go back where we had just come from, and then go the correct route (which is usually devoid of commuters), but I could understand why the driver would have did what he did under the circumstances.

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Public Contradictions…The Order Of The Day

Hartley Henry - DLP Political Strategist

My heart goes out to those 17, 000 Puerto Ricans set to go on the breadline in a matter of days. The authorities say there is no alternative to cutting the wages bill. Those 16, 970 government workers to be axed follow a previous 7, 000 that were sent packing in May of this year.

Of course, 14 million Americans were thrown out of work over the past 20 months and claims on the U.S. unemployment scheme continue to climb. The same dismal picture emanates from Gordon Browne’s Great Britain, where joblessness is at its highest in more than two decades.

I take no comfort in these sobering, indeed depressing statistics, but they are timely reminders of how fortunate we are in Barbados to be staying and steering clear of the worse case scenarios associated with the current global economic downturn. Closer to home in several Caribbean islands, the International Monetary Fund has not only knocked, but in some instances, has knocked the door down in its haste to enter and remedy near calamitous situations.

Obesity Decreases The Odds

McClinton/Getty Extra weight in middle age can have a dramatic effect on women's health as they grow older, according to new research.

There is the saying the health of a nation is the wealth of a nation. According to reports from the experts, non-communicable diseases (CNCDs) are on the rise globally, of more concern to Barbadians is the more significant rise occurring in developing countries. It is not our approach to this subject to be judgemental, we all have our challenges with balancing our lifestyles and healthy living.

What cannot be denied is the rising number of CNCDs in Barbados  according to the periodic reports we get from our officials. Concern by the former government forced the establishment of the National Task Force on CNCDs which was established to produced a policy document for the prevention and control of CNCDs. Among the recommendations were:

• The establishment of a Health Promotion Unit.
• The establishment of the post of Senior Medical Officer of Health (CNCDs).
• The establishment of a National Commission on CNCDs.

Despite the task force initiative our country continues to struggle with perpetuating a culture of healthy living. We understand Barbados currently occupies the highest category for incidence of diabetes and obesity.

To arrest the problem calls for a lifestyle adjustment which maybe a cry in the wilderness based on how our society continues to develop i.e. proclivity for fast food, foods infected with preservatives, driving instead of walking etc. The greatest irony for the BU household continues to be the rising number of CNCDs as we boast of achieving first world status in 2025. What yardstick are we using to measure success?

Yet another study has been released by the medical fraternity which predicts a sorry outcome for people who surrender to the battle of the bulge. The study used females to feed its research, we hope our resident medical expert Dr. GP can validate whether we can extrapolate the findings to include men.